The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1887-12-31
UNDER THE OLD ROOF TREE.

AI0llO OAAAi w AAOAN AiaNN ) W.
been lately!" shouted a broker the
other evening, to a portly fine dress
ed man in the corridor Of the st.
James. The gentleman stopped,
shook hands with his friend, and re-
piled
Owe been home to see my old fa-
ther and mother, the first time in
sixteen years, and | tell you old
man, wouldn't have missed it for
all my fortune"
"Kinder good to visit your boy
hood home, eh?"
"You bet. Sit down. 1 was just
thinking about the old folks, and feel
talkative. If you have few mo-
ments to spare, sit down, light eli
gar, and listen to u story of a rich
man who had almost forgotten his
father and mother
They sat down, and the man told
his story.
How | came to visit my home
happened in Il curious way. Six
weeks ago | went down to Fire Is
land fishing. | had a lunch put
up at Crook d Nash's. and you can
imagine my astonishment when l
opened the hamper to find a package
of crackers wrapped up in news
paper. That newspaper was the lit
tie patent inside country weekly
published at home in Wisconsin. |
read every word of it, advertisements
and all. There was Kellogg, a
schoolmate of mine, advertising ham
and salt pork, and another boy was
postmaster. By Georgel it made
me homesick, and determined then
aud there to 90 home, and go home
! did.
"In the first place must tell you
how ! came to New York. had a
tiff with my father and left home.
l finally turned up in New York
with dollar in my pocket. l got a
job running freight elevator in the
very house in which | am now part
ner. My haste to get rich drove the
thoughts Of my parents away from
me, and when l did think of them
the hard words that my father last
spoke to me ranked in my bosom.
"Well, l went home. didn't sec
much change in Chicago, but the
magnificent new depot in Milwau-
kee thought was an improvement
on the the old they used to have. 1t
was only thirty miles from Milwau-
kee to my home, and tell you, John
that train seemed to creep. 1 was
actually worse than schoolboy 60
ing home to vacation. At last we
neared the town. Familiar sights
met my eyes and, darn it all they
filled with tears. There was Bill
Lyman's red barn, just the same
but great what were all the other
houses? +? We rode nearly a mile be
fore coming to the depot, through
houses, where only occasionally l
saw one that was familiar. The
town had grown to ten times its size
when | knew it. The train stopped
and | jumped off Not a face in
sight that | knew, and started down
the platform to go home. In the Of
flee stood the station agent. l walk
ed up and said: 'Howdy, Mr. Col
Inns ?"
"He stared at me and replied =
You've got the best of me-
81 told him who | was and what
1 had been doing in New York, and
he didn't make any bones in talk
ing to me. He said:
"'It's about time you came home.
You in New York rich, and your
father scratching gravel to make a
bare living.
Il tell you, John, it knocked me
all in heap. l thought my father
had enough to live upon comiorta-
bly,. Then anotion struck me. Be-
fore going home l telegraphed to
Chicago to one of our correspond
ents there to send me 81 900 by first
mail. Then l went into Mr.. Collins
back office, got my trunk in there,
and put on an old hand-me-down
suit that 1 used for hunting and
fishing My plug hat | replaced
with soft hat took my valise in
my hand and went home. Some
how the place didn't look right The
currant bushes had been dug up
from the front yard and the fence
was gone. All the old locust trees
had qeen cut down and young ma
pies were planted. The house look
ed smaller somehow, too. But I
went up to the front door and rang
the bell. Mother came to the door
and said
CIV Ill -. l. . i